Triple Berry Scones with Flax

This morning I had an inkling for warm, homemade scones. I knew that I’d be grabbing coffee with one of my friends mid-morning and the thought of a fresh berry scone alongside a piping hot cup of coffee seemed rather fantastic. So, I rose out of bed a little before 6:30 a.m. and spent a few quiet minutes reading through Philippians over my cold bowl of cereal. “Fresh scones,” I thought to myself, as I pondered what “imitating Christ’s humility” could look like in my every day. I want to be a person who gives generously to others and looks “not only to [my] own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

Then it dawned on me...I have so much freedom in Christ, to share my gifts and resources with others, especially in baking. The other day, one of my friends shared how “baking is ministry of its own”. I like the idea of that, especially because I love baking. My desire to share homemade goods with others comes naturally. It’s an outpouring of my heart. On that note, here is a recipe I developed for homemade scones, based on skimming through multiple online recipes along with Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” and then deciding what I wanted to use and omit. I admit—my version of scones is much simpler than the more wordy recipes I came across this morning. I hope you enjoy it!

Triple Berry Scones with Flax
Makes 7-10 scones, depending on size

Ingredients:

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

½ c. ground flaxseed

½ c. whole wheat flour

2 tbsp. sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

2 eggs (I prefer free range, organic grain fed)

¾ c. whole milk

1 ½ tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ c. berries (fresh or frozen work great; I used a combination of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In food processor*, combine flours, flaxseed, sugar and baking powder. Pulse until combined. Slowly add pieces of butter through top feed tube, while food processor is on. (Using the feed tube is the safest way to do this.) When the mixture looks crumbly, turn the food processor off.

In a separate large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Blend slightly (breaking up the yolks) but do not over mix.

Transfer the crumbly flour mixture from the food processor into the large bowl with the liquid mixture. Add the berries. Gently mix until combined, being carefully not to break the berries as the scones will look like vibrant plato. (Note: this is not an issue for me, as I like brightly colored food.)

With your hands, gently knead the dough a few times. Then drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet, shaping into scone-like triangles. Feel free to get creative here, or you can simply make “drop scones” that are round in shape.

At this point, I lightly brushed the tops of my scones with one egg white, then sprinkled sugar on top. This step is optional but makes the presentation that much more dramatic—lightly browned, crisp tops are very attractive.  

Bake the scones at 425 degrees for 7-10 minutes, watching carefully. Scones are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

**Note: you can make these scones by hand as well, it just gets a little messier when you are combining the chunks of butter, as you need to crumble it with the flour mixture by hand.